Thursday, 26 December 2013

What: The brief of this exercise was to visit one or two
locations where I could return a number of times in different lighting and
photograph on each occasion.

Where: Work

When: First thing in the morning as soon as the sun had risen
and at the end of the day after the sun had set.

How: I had
made note of these locations as viable locations as I was easily able to
revisit these locations a number of times during the day and easily photograph
the conditions.

The only slight problem I had with these locations are that I was
unable to setup a tripod due to the space restrictions and the ability to
transport a lot of equipment across the site to these places.

In the first location I really wanted to
capture the difference in lighting conditions as although there was only a
little difference in shadow there was a vast difference in the colouration of
the light within the space.

During the day a lot of light comes in
through the room which is then supplemented with the large lights around the
roof of the workshop. When the sun sets the shapes in the roof supports are
clearer and better defined but the shadows are coloured by the artificial
lights giving them a yellow tint.

The floor also takes on the yellow tint
making it more orange than in natural light.

I was surprised to find that I only had to half my shutter speed
at the end of the day to capture the final image of the workshop. Even though I
was in a slight different position, I can easily compare the light conditions
and the shadows, the space looses height as it has lost the brightness from the
skylights and I feel that the walls are slightly closer as they are not
reflecting the light back into the workshop area.

I decided to revisit the link bridge to capture the differences in
light even on a dull day. As the bridge runs east/west it captures a lot of
light during the day and a lot of the shadows are completely lost in the
brightness. Nearest the camera there is a small spot of shadow created by the
building behind the bridge which blocks the sun coming in from the left hand
side of the camera.

In the evening the bridge loses a lot of light as the darkness
below and to the sides of the bridge creates a dark tunnel around the space and
it spaces the space into a tunnel rather than a bridge. The inside of the
bridge is light up by the small lights in the roof, as the main purpose of the
bridge is to allow movement from A to B it is not covered in lots of light as a
lot of light is not really needed, enough light is required to allow people to
see where they are going and that is it.

There are small shadows created behind the supports of the bridge
as they are thrown into relief by the roof lights.

I was surprised to find out how much light was lost as the shutter
speed dropped from 1000th of a second down to a 45th of a
second. I had expected the lights in the roof to produce much more light that
what they actually did.

When I was at the bridge in the morning I took a modified camera
which allows me to capture a colour Infra Red photograph, as an experiment to
see if I could capture a completely different point of view on the lighting
conditions of the space.

In the image I was able to capture a lot of repeating shadows
which did not show up on the colour images. It also cast the other end of the
link bridge into complete darkness making it a much sinister image, partially due to the image compression as I used the smallest focal length on a telephoto lens.

I am pleased to see that I was able to meet the brief and show that these areas changed with the lighting conditions.

What: The main brief of this exercise was choose two locations or
spaces which are designed for a particular activity and to capture an image
that attempts to capture the users point of view, taking into account height,
orientation of the image and the lens focal length. Where: At the museum and at work. When: Two differing points in the day; at the museum it was mid
morning and at work it was in the early evening. How: After
making a couple of notes and examining a few locations I decided upon the two
locations as they are vast spaces who are solely dedicated to movement of
people from one location to another and they are almost ignored by the users on
a daily basis. Museum Stairs

Attending the
museum I had to move in a non linear fashion into the buildings due to my
limited mobility, therefore I get a unique point of view of the establishment
as I am mainly routed through less used locations.

I wanted to
capture these stairs specifically as they have been designed at an angle which
you cannot see when you are using the stairs directly, it is only when you are
about to descend the stairs that you notice the odd angle that the stairs have
been built into.

I chose this
location and angle as it is at this point of time as I approach the stairs that
the oblique angle of the stairs first defines itself to my eyes. I did not use
a wide angle lens as this pulled in too much of the background and when
orientated into portrait the wide angle lens still distorted the final image. I
wanted the aperture to be wide enough to show that there was something at the
bottom of the stairs but at the same time I did not want to blow out the whites
of the tiles nor did I want to lose the grain of the wooden steps.

Link Bridge

I wanted to
capture this space as it is a special space solely built to allow movement
between buildings while still being a secure break between buildings to prevent
fire moving between the buildings. Its design as a security feature as well as
a transit space is ignored by most users.

I wanted to
capture the amount of space dedicated to the “room” and I wanted to capture it
in the dark as the sides are made of tough glass and during the day the amount
of light coming into it can be blinding. At night however the space becomes a
bright route between two dark spaces.

I really wanted
to use the wide angle lens to capture not only the width of the bridge but the
length. The bridge space spans off into the distance and the exit doors can be
faintly made out in the glare of the lights as they repeat off into the
distance. I also wanted to capture the Fibonacci like repetition of the light
reflections on the floor.

I am very happy with the final choice
treatments of the spaces, I had a few attempts at spaces which in my mind made
good choices and examples but when I visited the areas I could not capture the
final image treatment that I wanted. I also had a few problems with low light
in a few areas as I could not always get to the locations when the natural
light was best.

What: The main brief of this exercise was to examine a space and think about that it is intended to be used for, has the design of
the space as it stands, been a successful design; does it fit the function of
the space. Transfer this thought process into an image. Where: At Home, Indoors When: Just after sunrise. How: After making a lot of notes about the idea of the space of the bedroom, I think translated
the thoughts into a single image. Locate a space: After thinking about different locations and spaces I decided to use the one space that I practically function from on a daily basis. The Bedroom Who uses the space: I do. Intention of the space: The dictionary definition of the bedroom is a room furnished for and used for sleeping and for the storage
of clothes.
How many aspects are there to the activity: Sleep hygiene tells us that the bedroom and the bed should only be used for sleeping and that you should not read, watch TV, or eat in bed/bedroom and that the bed and the bedroom have to be associated as the a relaxing location.

However many of us do not adhere tightly to these
rules and that the bedroom has become a multi function area where rest and
activity overlaps. People will watch TV, read, use computers until they become
tired and at that moment the bedroom and the bed returns to the intended
function which is a room where people sleep.

In reality in this point in time, the bedroom here
in this image has had the function changed;

It is a study spot, an office from where I work, a
reading room, a cat space, a place to watch TV, read books, and eat and to
listen to music. As well as the traditional function of a place to rest;
especially when I am personally struggling to maintain a clear thought process
due to chronic fatigue and pain. It can be clearly seen in the image that the
area is cluttered with books, papers, magazines, laptops and cats and is
clearly showing signs of occupation and a change of function from the
definitive description and intended idea of what the space should be.

I decided upon a low light shot as I wanted to
capture the room as intended, using the wide angle lens allowed to me to
capture the space in a non architectural style, I wanted to converge the
verticals and show that there was some form of human occupation of the space. I
also wanted to capture the true day to day function of the space, I did not
want to hide the fact that the space has had to become multifunction due to my
condition.

Saturday, 12 October 2013

What: The main brief of this exercise was to photograph people
in a public place, trying to capture them in a meaningful activity.

Where: Museum of Flight, East Fortune, Outdoors

When: Morning on sunny day.

How: While traversing a corridor at work I noticed on a
social and recreational noticeboard that there was a “wings and wheels” event
at the nearby museum of flight. Noting that it would be an ideal opportunity
for the assignment I made arrangements to go along and photograph the local car
and motorbike enthusiasts as well as some of the demonstration events by the
white helmet motorcycle display team.

I decided to concentrate on the crowds rather than
the demonstration as I wanted to capture the small group of devotees of all
things motor driven gathered together in this one place. I felt quite relaxed
as I started to photograph as one of the first people I came across was another
“member” of the sons of arthritis and we had a chat about treatment and a complain
about ailments.

I made my way around the field noting a
photographing subjects that I found interesting and eye catching; I took more
personal shots for myself than I did for the assignment as I was so comfortable
and calm as I photographed.

A large number of the people that I photographed
were together in a group representing the local motorcycle riders and the local
steam engine aficionados. They were all standing together chatting and
comparing notes on engines and machines. I also took a couple of comparison
shots where I compared the photographic excitement and usage between current
generations.

I like the comparison in these two images, both photographers were
moving in and out of the vehicles and what I wanted to capture was the
difference in style and technology of these two individuals. Both interested in
vehicles enough to capture the beauty of the cars and bikes.

When the white helmets came out to perform the crowd
moved across to the barrier area and settled in to watch the performance.

I wanted to get a couple of images of the
performance as that was part of what everyone was there to see.

At the bike exhibition there were a group from the
British Legion Motorcycle supporters, some of whom were driving modified
motorcycles which looked like American highway patrol motorbikes and they
dressed the part.

Of course I could not resist the cliché of the
American police officer with the doughnut in hand! I cropped the image slightly
to take out the right shoulder of an individual who stepped into the frame just
as I pressed the shutter.

In all of the 28 images that I finally chose, the 14 that I have submitted are the ones I am happiest with as they met the remit of
the assignment. Again I used the lessons learned from the previous exercises to
good use in both taking posed and un-posed photographs.

Wednesday, 9 October 2013

What: The main brief of this exercise was to photograph people
in a public place, trying to capture them as they interact with their
surroundings.

Where: North Berwick, Outdoors

When: Afternoon on a mild overcast day.

How: I
decided at random to pick a nearby beach and visit hoping to capture more than
people sitting in cars or walking their dogs.

Having completed the previous exercise I was
quite upbeat going into this exercise; having learnt that unless I give myself
a time limit I will move about too much for too long and then end up in pain
for two or three days. Again I gave myself a time window and an area to work
in; this time at the beach which was luckliy for me quite busy.

When I arrived I found that there was a
sailing competition on, but the boats were about a mile out from the bay as so
were well out of range as well out of my remit. As I walked along the beach I
regularly changed lenses and photographed in a number of different styles.
Again shooting from the hip was a bit hit and miss but I had much for
confidence in my work.

I was very pleased by a number of shots as
not only was I looking for people interacting with the locale but I was also
photographing them as they interacted with each other, I was also pleased by
the number of different activities that I could spot.

I am really pleased with this shot, the
subject is relaxed an unaware that she is being photographed even though she is
only a few feet away. Her hair caught in the wind leads into the image and he
stands out against the background without the lens bokeh being too much to
distract the eye from her.

I saw this youngster walking along the beach
behind his guardian and he would pick up and set down a handful of dried
seaweed as he went. He was completely caught up in his investigation of what he
had in his hands.

I was slightly disappointed in this
photograph of the dog "Rocky" and his owner, having used the wide
angle lens at a lowish angle I had to try and straighten the perspective as the
lens created a tilt away from me.

Even when I “corrected” the tilt in the image, it
still does not look quite right. However it does capture that happiness in the
owner and his pleasantness.

I was a little happier with this image, although it
is slightly cropped, as for some reason as yet unknown the conical petal shaped
lens hood was shown at the outer corners of the image causing a vignette of the
image.

I am pleased with the colours in this image as the
sea reflects the colour of his waders and the sky reflects the colours of the
shallow water. It was not until I reviewed the image that I noticed that he was wearing a set of headphones and was listening to something other than the sound of the beach

As we moved to the end of the beach, we reached the
shallow pool built in Victorian times, which is now mainly used by dog owners
for allowing the dogs to play felt the ball in the water.

There were however a couple who stood close by, who
were picking seashells up from the beach.

I could have spent all day in the area just watching
and photographing people; what I have started to notice from the teaching from
this part of the course is the number of different activities that people can
partake of in one area and how the interact with each other and their
surroundings.

Overall lessons learning as I go into the Assignment; relax, watch and photograph with care, do not photograph randomly and in a hurry and hope that something will fit the brief. It has been a good boost to my experience and confidence. I feel a lot happier and much more confident photographing outdoors than before I started.

I enjoyed this exercise as I had worked out in advance what I
wanted to capture, the crowds and the performers. I was pleased that I was able
to find location to photograph from that allowed me to observe and photograph
without interrupting people.

I also enjoyed the challenge of photographing the performers in
different lighting conditions as they were set for the performers and not
really for photography.

Friday, 20 September 2013

What: The main brief of this exercise was to set the focal
length of the camera lens as close to “standard” focal length as possible.

Where: Edinburgh, Outdoors

When: Afternoon on a mild overcast day.

How: I held
my camera in portrait position and with both eyes open I moved the focal length
of the lens so that the scene I was looking at the camera focal length matched
that of my normal eyesight and they looked the same.

I think I may have had a slight problem here as due to my topic
pupil the focal depth of my vision is abnormal, as the pupil is being crushed
by the eye muscles I cannot focus my eye properly.

Using a kit 18-70mm lens on my camera I found that after a few
adjustments that my focal depth is somewhere around the 40mm range on this
lens rather than the expected 27mm to 32mm range.

While at a community gathering in Edinburgh, I went around the
entire site looking out for subjects or actions that I found interesting, once
I had spotted something I noted the location and came back later where I could
find a position to be inconspicuous and where I could photograph without
attracting too much attention.

The requirement to have little distance to the subject did not allow
for clear and concise framing, by hanging the camera a lower position meant
that the frame could be interfered with by practically anything from passersby
and the simple fact that I had to shoot
and trust the I had captured what I wanted.

While circling back around the site I noticed someone trying to
attract people to attend a nature event.

The subject made eye contact a number of times and I waited until
they went back to attracting visitors before I fired the shutter. I wanted her
to be relaxed and comfortable with being photographed.

I had noticed a person dancing to the various musicians and
performers through the day, I wanted to get close and photograph them as they
danced but they were just moving too fast and I could not keep up.

I waited until they stopped dancing around the site and had
settled in one position and was dancing with a large piece of white cloth which
caught the slightest breeze.

I had to crop the shot down as I was still too far away, but I am
much happier with the framing and action within the frame. The subject is
caught within their thoughts and movement to the music and is not focussed on
what is going on around them.

I am much happier with the second image as it really keeps the attention on the central subject. Using a zoom lens would probably have created a large amount to bokeh in the background and would have isolated the subject completely from their surrounds. Up close with a wide angle lens may have produced quite a dynamic image but it would have distorted the subject if I had tried to compose both the dancer and the cloth within the frame.

What: The main brief of this exercise was to get close and
involved with the subject by the use of a wide angled lens

Where: Edinburgh, Outdoors

When: Afternoon on a mild overcast day.

How: I had a
found already to my cost that using a small point and shoot camera would be of
no use, as even thought the images were coming back as having a focal depth of
17mm or 18mm when in fact the find image
was nothing of the sort.

Possessing the widest angle lens for my DSLR that I had, I decided
that this may be of better use as it was a 11 mm-16 mm meaning that I would have
to get close.

I had already tested the suitability of close up photography with
a visit to Jupiter Art Land where I took a number of closeup shots of statues
in the woods using the 11-16mm wide angle lens and I knew that I was going to
get within three feet of people to obtain a close image.

These images are from a visit to Jupiter Art Land, I found myself
always within about 3 feet from the statues when I photographed them as it
allowed the full statue to be contained within the frame.

I visited a community gathering in Edinburgh where I hoped that
there would be a number of events and enough people where I could use the lens
without attracting attention when trying to photograph someone within a few
feet away.

I was again at the disadvantage of my disability so I knew that I
to balance the twin objects of obtaining the photographs without being knocked
to the ground by accident.

My first attempt to find a number of locations to shoot from did
not work as I could not get close enough to anyone quickly and take the shot as
they passed as the lens is very slow to focus. I managed to obtain a number of
close-ups of subjects but they were all blurred.

The second attempt was a
bit more successful; I hung the camera around my neck and with one hand to
control my balance on my walking stick I placed my left hand around the camera
so that the tips of my fingers just touched to the top of the shutter release.
This allowed me to move in and out of the people and first the shutter when I
thought that I might capture and interesting image.

In the main I was pretty unsuccessful, most of the images were
incorrectly framed, blurred or at a completely odd angle. I could get close
enough to people but the lens being slow to focus meant that I mainly
photographed them as they passed or they adjusted angle of approach at the last
minute and I ended up getting a close up of their jacket.

The requirement to have little distance to the subject did not allow
for clear and concise framing, by hanging the camera a lower position meant
that the frame could be interfered with by practically anything from passers-by
and the simple fact that I had to shoot
and trust the I had captured what I wanted.

Re examining the images I see that from the way I had decided to
step up the camera and then use a kind of surveillance technique of
photographing meant that I could not adjust the settings of the camera; once I
had picked an f-stop and what kind of white balance and metering I wanted I
could not really adjust anything while moving. Even the focal length was pretty
much fixed unless the camera was bumped slightly knocking the lens back from
11mm towards 16mm.

The exercise was quite a challenge not only physically but also
mentally as I had to trust my instincts and just hope that I had captured what
I wanted.

I am not truly happy with the results of the exercise as I found
that the choice of lens was too extreme, at 11-16mm a lot of the subjects were
further away from the lens than I had hoped. I may revisit the exercise using
something more like a normal kit lens starting at 17mm where I can work between
17mm and 24mm to obtain better framing and composition.

About Me

I am attempting to complete the OCA Course,Context and Narrative and this is my learning log for this course.
I have fibromyalgia with complications; Neuropathic and Neurogenic pain in my legs and spine and I have a tonic pupil which neither reacts to light nor contracts or dilates. Recently I have been told that this is further compounded by a loss of all central vision in my left eye. This is all making the course a little harder than I expected.